This DVD set contains the original theatrical release, and the final director’s cut.
Harrison Ford’s character was Rick Deckard, not “Richard Decker.” I had to point that out. Something was wrong on the internet. . .
The subject of Deckard being human or replicant has come up many times here. Ridley Scott remained silent until about ten years back, when he declared him a replicant. I hold that it’s proof of his mental decline, further cemented by, “Prometheus.” 
Ford has always maintained that Deckard was human, and that nothing was ever said about it otherwise during filming. He doesn’t seem to like the replicant theory.
Turning Deckard into a replicant changes an interesting movie challenging our perceptions of what it is to be human, into a cheap M. Night Shyamalan twist. They’ll make him whatever they want in the new movie, and wank it to make it so. Easy to say he’s a ‘special model’.
Am I the only one who is absolutly OK with Harrison Ford’s narration/voiceover? That’s the way I first saw it and never gave it a second thought. I think it fits and sounds just right. Have never viewed a version without it and really don’t want to.
I never had a problem with the voiceover, but as mentioned, I haven’t seen that version in maybe 30 years (my early teens.)
Bump.
The voice-over version of Blade Runner is playing on SyFy at this very moment. I’m 30 minutes in, and the voice-over is phoned-in. It is also unnecessary exposition, and it ruins the mood of every scene it is in.
Before I heard that Ford hated doing it and phoned it in, I always just assumed it was more of Deckard’s hungover world-indifference.
I liked the voice-over version, and still prefer it. Whether that’s due to it being the version I was first exposed to I can’t say.
My impression was that the voice-over version was more friendly to casual viewers, who needed things like “skinjob” explained to them, but when I saw the non-voice-over version, you paid more attention to the visuals.
I don’t think one is clearly better than the other, but they’re definitely different.
In anticipation of the sequel, I watched the Final Cut version. I’ve never seen Blade Runner before, so this was my first time. I found the experience pretty terrible. I had a lot of anticipation - it sounded like the movie should be right up my alley. But no, it took me three separate sessions to finish because it was so slow. The delivery of lines was dragged out, it seemed to be going for shock value rather than substance, I didn’t care a bit about any of the characters, and I thought the acting was pretty poor too. What am I missing that makes people think this film is so great.
The guys at redlettermedia.com have a Re:View chapter dedicated to the original Blade Runner and while they clearly like the movie, they pull no punches over the sillier aspects of it, with no shortage of mockery for the goofy scene where Deckard pretends to be a muppet-voiced union rep in order to question Zhora.
I loved the movie. I have the box set with all the different versions.
Objectively speaking, you are right. Way too much exposition (too much telling; not enough showing) and really bad dialog. “Memories! You’re talking about memories.” Really? I know it’s a classic but, “Wake up. Time to die.” Nah.
Must come down to that I really love the atmosphere and mood. It really set a benchmark for that sort of thing.
I always watch Half-in-the-Bag episodes. Has anyone seen their new one for BR 2049? If so, do they go full spoiler?
I want to wait if they do.
After much pre-release hype, I saw the original when it came out, awful narration and all, and was kinda disappointed. While the VFX looked great and the production design was some of the best ever, the story was pretty threadbare and less than engaging; some good (now-iconic) lines of dialogue and Harrison Ford getting the shit beaten out of him repeatedly did not compensate enough.
I saw the same version again at a revival house a few years later. I came out of the theater with my opinion unchanged and two of my car’s tires slashed.
I saw one of the alleged “Director’s cuts” on cable some years after that, well into the era of CG. There was no narration (and no tires slashed), and the hints of Deckard being a replicant seemed far more prominent. I was surprised at how well most of the VFX had held up. The story was as deficient as ever.
Some years back, I heard of a screening of “The Director’s Cut” held at the Director’s Guild. Mr. Ridley Scott was not present, but a message he had allegedly composed was read to the audience. It referenced certain bits of “his cut”… and when the film was subsequently shown, those bits were not in it.
I rank Tire Slasher, I mean Blade Runner as both one of the best and worst films of its year.
Just watched the director’s cut. Just about as I remembered. Neat, but slow. Wondered what seemed different - no narration.
Thought those LED billboards were wild back then…
I’m sure they do, if history is any guide, which is why I’m avoiding their BR2049 show until after I see the movie. There will probably be a warning in the RLM show (“To avoid spoilers, skip to 35:32”) but I’ll hold off anyway.
Bumped.
I love the original Blade Runner, despite some nits I could pick here but won’t. Interesting characters, talented cast, deft neo-*noir *cinematography, an amazingly-realized and thoroughly convincing dystopian future LA, a tragic love story, a mesmerizing score, etc.
I stumbled across this cool, BR-inspired ambient music on YouTube: Haloed - Off-World (Full Album) [Blade Runner Soundtrack Remix Album] - YouTube
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time… like tears in rain… Time to die”
The truly lasting, influential part of the movie is definitely the overall aesthetic of a technologically advanced but dark, impersonal, dystopian future. There are countless movies, television shows, books, and video games that basically took the cyberpunk world that Blade Runner visualized and plugged their own characters and stories right into it. Before Blade Runner “The Future” was imagined in many disparate ways, but after Blade Runner, they almost all looked just like that.
Check out Altered Carbon on Amazon Prime. It borrowed heavily from Blade Runner. I loved it (and I read the books years ago).
What BR did, and did not, get right about 2019: 'Blade Runner': What the movie got wrong -- and right -- about 2019 | CNN